UK Publishes Category of Foreigners British Employers Do Not Need to Check Before Hiring

• The UK government has clarified which foreign nationals employers are not required to subject to right-to-work checks before hiring
• Three nationals who arrived in the UK before a specific date fall under the exemption, though a condition applies
• The guidance also outlines different verification routes available to British employers, depending on the nationality of the job applicant

The UK government has published guidance clarifying which categories of foreign nationals are exempt from mandatory right-to-work checks, setting out the conditions under which employers are not required to verify a job applicant's immigration status before hiring them.

According to the official GOV.UK guidance, employers in the United Kingdom are generally obligated to confirm that any person they intend to hire has legal permission to work in the country. However, one group of foreign nationals is explicitly carved out of this requirement.

Who is exempt from UK right-to-work checks

Existing employees who are citizens of the three categories below are exempted from the right-to-work check by British employers in the UK only if they arrived in the UK before 1 July 2021:

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UK lists 3 categories of foreigners British employers can hire without permission from government

1. The European Union,
2. The European Economic Area,
3. Switzerland

This exemption applies strictly to workers already in employment, not to new applicants.

For EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens arriving in the UK to work from 1 January 2021 onwards, employers are required to hold a sponsor licence before they can legally take them on. This condition effectively means the exemption has a firm cut-off and does not extend to more recent arrivals from those regions.

For all other applicants, the guidance sets out three accepted routes for verifying the right to work. Employers can check a share code provided by the applicant through the government's online verification service, inspect original identity documents in person, or use an approved identity service provider that offers Identity Document Validation Technology, known as IDVT.

Foreigners hired by UK employers without permission

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the UK government has outlined which foreign nationals employers can hire without needing a sponsor licence.

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UK announces 1 reason it will reject a foreigner's citizenship application

Most workers from outside the UK require sponsorship, but three specific groups are exempt from this requirement.

Source: Legit.ng